Turn Back the Clock
by Charbonne
Summary: The fight between Yuno and Akise ends with much different results, causing a ripple that can be felt in the third world. Now, Akise and Uryuu must race to prevent another survival game before the third world suffers the same fate as their own.
1. Chapter 1

This work was something that was picking at the back of my mind for a while, and I decided to commit to writing. Please enjoy!

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 **Chapter 1:**

 **And the Pendulum Swings...**

His neck burned. That was Aru's thought as he lay there bleeding, trying vainly to staunch the blood coming out. There was so much of it, though. Aru's hand was slick with it, the crimson liquid flowing steadily through his fingers despite his best efforts. He could feel nothing, however. His fingers and feet were cold, frozen, with the rest of his body following suit. And yet he had done it, hadn't he? He'd shown Yukiteru the truth. What happened before and after had left him feeling out of sync.

It had been Yuno that had tipped the balance. After Yukiteru had murdered his friends, his true friends, Aru had run after, trying in vain to catch up with him, to stop this madness. Instead, he had arrived too late. Hinata, Mao, Ouji, they were all dead, having been shot by Yukiteru in his attempts to get to Eighth. After that, it became a blur. He'd confronted Yukiteru, told him the truth, tried to get him to see reason, and then went after Yuno. Gasai had other plans, however, and had a spare diary from her other self, the real one in this world.

This world, he thought humorlessly. This wasn't his original world, was it? He didn't remember all the details, only that somehow he'd made it all the way to Yukiteru and shown him what he'd figured out. Somehow that motivated Yukiteru to stop Yuno before she attacked him. There were so many somehows that Aru wasn't sure of all of them. He'd passed out not long after, and had only reawakened when he heard something. Voices, his muddled mind reminded him. Instead of the rubble that had surrounded him before, he was in a home. Gasai's home, if he recalled.

The voices grew closer, one panicked as something had happened. Aru wasn't sure, only that his eyes closed tight against the flashlight that suddenly blasted his vision. He blinked repeatedly, trying to see beyond the light, when he felt movement around him. Someone was touching him, probably assessing the wounds he had, while another was checking his throat. They tried to move his hand away from the gash and he slapped them away, not even thinking about it, only realizing that if he took his hand away he was dead. However, his efforts were weak at best, and they pried his hand away long enough for him to realize that they were possibly trying to help. By this point, however, his mind was sluggish and his eyes slid shut. He remembered nothing afterward.

When his eyes opened again, Aru saw a white ceiling and walls. People were rushing around him, talking and moving and doing something. He tried to find his voice, to say something, but he found he couldn't. Something was shoved down his throat, and someone else was above him, squeezing something rhythmically. It was then that the person above him must have noticed he was awake, because they turned and said something. Aru tried raising his hands, tried to do something to get the thing out of his throat, but other hands held him down. It was then that drowsiness clouded his senses, and Aru's eyes slid closed again.

When they opened again, everything was still. His eyes travelled around, taking note of the white walls, the white ceiling, just, the white everything. Something seemed stuck to his throat, and he reached one hand up to touch it experimentally. Fingers brushed over plastic tubing, and he let the hand fall. He'd been intubated. He tried to talk then, and gave that up with a hiss as pain lanced through his neck. He reached up with probing fingers again, finding cotton covering a good portion of his throat.

How did he get here? He remembered everything, of course. The argument with Yukiteru, the fight with Yuno, Yukiteru stopping Yuno from finishing the job she'd started, everything was clear. That still didn't explain where he was, or even how he'd survived. Had Deus intervened? Somehow he doubted it. He'd defied the god by refusing to be reabsorbed, and was now just as human as any of his friends ar-were. They were dead. He should be dead.

Tears threatened and escaped from his eyes as he realized that out of everyone he knew, he was the last one alive. Was even Yukiteru alive, or had Yuno managed to kill him off? He didn't know. If Yukiteru had lived, then where was he? Had he managed to do the impossible and revive the world? No, he couldn't have. Even Deus had said that no one could revive the dead. So had Yuno won? Or Yukiteru? He didn't know. He should know.

It wasn't long before a nurse came into the room, confirming Aru's suspicions that he was indeed in a hospital. She looked startled to see him awake, but proceeded to check his pulse, breathing, blood pressure, well, pretty much everything. She checked his abdomen, where Aru winced as he remembered being stabbed by Yuno there. He'd forgotten about that wound. Then again, it hadn't been bleeding nearly as badly as his neck had been which the nurse checked next. Seemingly satisfied, she went about changing his bandages, where there seemed to be only a little bit of spotting. Probably from when he tried to speak, he thought.

When she finished, she looked him over and frowned. "Okay, Akise-kun, do you feel any pain? Right now you're being fed through a tube so that you don't damage your throat any further. The doctor gave me instructions to try and keep you as comfortable as possible to avoid tearing the stitches in your neck."

Aru just shook his head slightly, trying not to jostle the tubing or the stitches too much. He felt exhausted, and figured it was due to the stress of however long everything had been happening, emotional drain from the realization he would never see his friends or family (Was there a family, or was that another of Deus's constructs to keep his identity on Earth a secret?), and finally, blood loss. The nurse just nodded and left the room, informing him that the doctor would be informed that he was awake.

Aru's mind started going through the last few months of his life, trying to figure out just what happened. He knew, but there was a difference between knowing and realizing what it meant. He knew he was probably more traumatized than he realized, but it hadn't sunk in yet. He knew that he would probably be jumping at shadows and trying desperately to remember he wasn't…

Where exactly was he? He couldn't remember much beyond the fight Yukiteru and Yuno had, and who the final victor was. He didn't even know that. He didn't even know if the world had been reset or if something happened and somehow…

A cold dread settled in his stomach. He tried to shove it away, but it sat there. Yuno had come from another world, where she won the game and became God. She had somehow come back to a point where she probably killed off her alternate self in his world and played the game there, to try and get Yukiteru. If she killed Yukiteru…

He couldn't just lie here. Not in bed, and certainly not while he knew that Yuno could easily be doing the same here. Had she gone back again after killing Yukiteru and he got dragged along? He didn't know. He briefly remembered seeing something of Yuno's home before he woke up here, but was that just his imagination or something else? He hated not having the answers, and there seemed to be more questions than answers.

When the door clicked again, Aru glanced over, and then nearly did a double take. Hair tied back, wearing a nurse's outfit, was Minene Uryu. The Ninth diary owner closed the door carefully behind her before making her way over, both eyes visible, but only one focusing on him. Her right arm was encased past her elbow in a glove, and Aru frowned. He opened his mouth to speak, but hissed instead as he felt the stitches pull.

Minene rolled her eye and walked over, handing him a pad of paper and a pen. "Seriously, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of your friends. You try and talk or sit up, and I will smack you upside the head. Got it?"

Aru nodded, wincing, and then picked up the pad of paper and pen to write. _**What happened?**_

Minene took a moment to look at the note and frowned. "You wouldn't remember, would you?" She crossed her arms and frowned, looking down at the bed for a moment before she looked back up. "I guess since I'm the only one with answers that's currently sane, I might as well answer."

She leaned forward and poked Aru in the middle of his forehead. "You happened. I don't know what you said or did, but apparently there was a fight between Gasai and Amano. Gasai ended up killing him, and since Eighth was already dead, and I no longer had my diary, she was proclaimed the victor. I arrived too late, and I could only grab you before the world went to hell. I don't know how the fuck you survived, but somehow you weren't dead, despite being stabbed in the neck. I managed to pull you through the vortex she created through time before the world collapsed. What I want to know is how the hell she did it, and why did she come back here. It's not the same time as it was when we're from."

Aru frowned, tapping his pen as he quickly wrote out his response. _**What time is it?**_ He couldn't act without knowing the full story, and while Minene's explanation did explain a bit, it wasn't the full story. _**Why was I at Gasai's earlier?**_

"Now, that's an easier question to answer," Minene replied with a smirk, one that faded as she regarded Aru. "It's April thirtieth, two years ago, and we were there because that's where Gasai ended up. She ended up murdering her counterpart here, Akise-san. I want to know why she did that, and what she hopes to gain from it."

Aru flipped it to a new sheet before he started writing quickly, wincing as his handwriting was getting a bit sloppy. _**She's not the Gasai Yuno from our world. She won the game before and traveled back to try again in ours. She had her double's diary and I destroyed it, thinking it was hers. I guess she had it on the off chance someone tried to destroy hers and hid hers so that no one could find it. I didn't discover it until she tried to kill me.**_

"Damn." Minene punched the bed beside her, causing Aru to jump a bit. Her eye then travelled back to Aru's. "So, what now? We just let a psycho try the game again and end up with the same result? No offense, but I know that it's going to happen again. I don't even think Deus is even aware of what's going on. If he knew, I'd have been called to him to discuss the situation. I don't even know if I can contact him in this world."

Aru frowned, a memory tugging at the back of his mind. _**Didn't you die? I thought that you blew up in the vault when you tried to go after Eleventh.**_

Minene barked out a laugh. "Oh, you would remember that little detail. Deus happened. He apparently gave me some of his abilities and thoughts when I met with him last, and pulled me out before the place exploded. I guess I owe him for that, don't I?"

 _ **I guess he liked keeping pawns around…**_ Aru didn't want to think about what happened the one and only time he could remember seeing the god. Being disassembled was not a memory he wished repeating. He vaguely wondered if that was one of the memories the god gave to Uryu. _**What did he tell you about me?**_

"He didn't tell me anything. Why? Is there some secret revolving around you that I should know about?" Her eye focused on him, and Aru swallowed. Or tried to. His throat stretched and he winced before he could complete the act.

 _ **I'm not human. I only look it. I was created to observe the games, as well as the diary owners. I wasn't supposed to survive him.**_

"Nice." Minene's tone suggested otherwise, and the woman rubbed her forehead. "So, what do we have? A reject from the games that should have died a long time ago and a construct of a god that outlived his use? What are we supposed to do? Stop Gasai from what she's about to do?"

 _ **We don't have a choice, do we? Otherwise, this world's fate is going to be the same as the last world's was. I don't even know if there's a world left.**_ Aru felt bitter as he wrote the words, but he couldn't help it. Yukiteru was dead, everything he knew was gone. All that was left was himself and Minene.

"It's a damn sad choice, that's what I think. I never wanted to be a god in the end, and yet, now? What, am I supposed to replace myself in the game to try and defeat Gasai?" Minene laughed at the idea. "No offense, but I think that brain of yours got fried when Deus died. There's no way we can defeat someone that's twice over a god."

Before he could respond, Aru heard the door click and an older man walked in. He paused, seeing Minene sitting on the bed with Aru before he walked over. "I wasn't aware that someone had come in to see you Akise-san. Visiting hours are over, young lady. He needs his rest."

"What, and a sister can't come to see her baby brother in the hospital?" Aru blinked over to Minene, surprised by her lie. "I didn't even get a notification that he was in the hospital until just an hour ago. Had to sneak in here to see Aru-chan."

Aru tried not to let the surprise show on his face as the doctor looked first at him, and then at her. Aru quickly turned the page in the notebook, not wanting to show the man what they were talking about. It was bad enough that he doubted anyone would believe it. He also doubted he'd do any good locked in the psyche wing at the hospital.

The doctor however seemed satisfied and turned to Minene. "I'm Dr. Tanaka. Since you're his sister, I should inform you of his prognosis. Quite frankly, he's lucky to be alive. He lost quite a lot of blood, and had he been found minutes later, he wouldn't be alive now. The stab to the abdomen was bad enough, since it pierced his diaphragm, but add to that the injury to the neck? I've never seen wounds like that before where the patient survived. He's lucky we have a talented surgeon on call, otherwise he'd be as good as dead."

Aru winced. He hadn't known how bad it had been. He knew he'd had trouble breathing, but he assumed it was from his neck wound. His hand ghosted to his side as his forehead furrowed. Minene however looked at the doctor with her own frown and questions. "How long before he can leave the hospital? And what's going on with the tubes and such? Does anyone know who did this?"

Aru would have laughed as he heard the last question. Minene knew full well who had done it, as did he. However, saying as such didn't do any good. Though if he had been found in Gasai's home, there had to be plenty of questions about how he got there and why.

The doctor to his credit answered Minene calmly. "I don't know who did that. You would have to talk to the detective in charge of the case. As far as tubing is concerned, it's helping him to breathe. While we repaired his diaphragm, the stab wound to the throat nearly severed his wind pipe and nicked his artery and vein. We're trying to reduce strain on the windpipe as much as possible and watch for infection. He should be able to leave in a few days, barring complications."

Minene nodded. "Well, Aru-chan, I guess that means you're going to be staying in the hospital for a while. Don't worry; I'll let the school know so that you don't get in trouble for skipping school."

The doctor frowned. "What about Aru's parents? Shouldn't they be informed?"

Minene shook her head. "They're both deceased. Our father passed away earlier this month due to a wasting disease, and our mother died when he was born. I was given custody of him until he gets out of school."

The doctor nodded, and then turned to Aru. "Given the circumstances, I'll advise the staff that you'll be staying, I assume, miss…?"

"Minene. Akise Minene. And thank you."

* * *

True to her word, Minene stayed after Dr. Tanaka left. They worked on their cover story, building up on the lies that were ironically closer to the truth than possible. Minene discussed the fact she'd have to be falsifying records for the both of them, if for no other reason than she was still a wanted terrorist and Aru was more than likely not even a twinkle in Deus's eye. Coupling that with the fact that they would have to work together to stop this madness, and it stood to reason they both would have to stick together for the foreseeable future. Having discussed everything for what seemed like hours, Minene stood, stretching and wishing Aru a good night. "Don't worry," she assured him. "I have the fun part. You just worry about getting better before I have to kick your ass for dying on me, Akise-san."

After that, Aru had a troubled sleep. In his dreams, he was being chased by Yuno. She cackled and screamed that Aru would not have her Yukki, and she would take his head to ensure he could never be near the other boy again. He awoke thrashing, arms being pinned to his side while someone gave him something to sleep. He slipped back into a dreamless sleep.

It was the fourth day after the surgery that he was allowed to leave. His clothes previously had been discarded, being too bloodstained for him to wear, and he was in the bathroom trying to button up the shirt Minene had gotten for him. A red puckered scar shone grimly on his alabaster skin, and Aru glared. He wasn't allowed to talk yet, considering his throat was still bandaged as they had removed the tracheotomy, but even so, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was allowed to.

Minene had somehow worked her magic, and had procured identities for the both of them. He was still Akise Aru, but she was now Akise Minene, his older sister. Both orphans, she was caring for him after the death of their father. Where they were staying, Minene had said she'd taken care of. Hopefully that didn't mean they were living somewhere in a shack. While he had faith that Minene knew how to live on the run, he didn't.

Sighing, he gave up on buttoning his shirt all the way up and decided that he would just deal with his shirt being open at the neck. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward on the sink, letting his forehead rest against the mirror before he pushed himself upright again. He hadn't been outside in four days, and he wanted to breathe something other than medicated air. He'd never been sick in his life, courtesy of his supernatural origins, he figured. He just hoped to never see a hospital again for as long as he lived. Considering what was likely to happen, he didn't think he had long anyway.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he was greeted with the sight of Minene sitting on the bed, arms and legs crossed while her eye patch rested over her glass eye. Her hair was tied back loosely with a clip, while a simple blouse and skirt completed her outfit. Aru didn't pay much attention to her, mostly because he couldn't speak, and mostly because he didn't know what else they could discuss. As it stood, she had been his main source of information, and she had stated that she'd been on the lookout for Yuno in case she found out that Aru survived their encounter. It felt weird knowing that she'd basically become his protector while he was incapacitated, but here he stood, ready to walk out of the hospital with her.

He slipped on his shoes easily enough, but paused when he got to his personal belongings. His phone, all but useless now, his notebook and pen, his wallet, and a set of keys were lying on the table beside the bed. His notebook and phone he could easily take with him. His wallet he figured they had used to identify him, and he pocketed that as well. When he got to his keys, he hesitated. No matter which way he looked at it, he no longer lived there. If it hadn't been just an illusion that Deus cooked up for him. His own doubts as to what he was, and everything in his past, he hated having them. He hated thinking that the parents he had lived with his entire life might actually be a lie. He hated the idea that every memory he had from his childhood was probably processed from millions of others to give him the illusion of a past. He especially hated the fact that he now doubted everything about himself. He knew one thing, however. No matter what Deus had stated, he believed that his feelings for Yukiteru were real.

Picking up the keys firmly, he turned toward Minene and found her standing with a small satchel over her shoulder. She was watching him carefully, he realized. Was he really that obvious? He knew she had lost Nishijima and any future the two of them had, but her eye told him there was something else troubling her. Was it him?

The moment passed however and she got a cocky grin on her face. "All right then. Let's just see how many wrenches we can throw in Gasai's plans."

* * *

Aru didn't know what to expect, but arriving at his old house wasn't one of them. He stared at it, recalling the last time he was there. His hand instantly sought the scar on his neck, and he shivered. His eyes wandered around, taking in the area. Could he pinpoint the place where Hinata, Mao, and Ouji met their ends? He shook himself out of his recollections long enough to hear Minene ask him if he was okay. What could he say? Stiffly he nodded, climbing out and reaching into his pocket.

The key fit into the lock, causing Aru to hesitate. Could he really face the ghosts of memories he knew he would find? He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he shoved back against the memories to enter. The front room was just as he remembered, the last time his home was whole. No pictures lined the walls, and from what he remembered, there never were any. Suddenly feeling an impulse, he walked quickly through the home, looking in each and every room, trying to find something of his existence in it. There was nothing, however, not even a hint of what would be, only an empty home for someone that never existed.

Finding his way to his room, he slowed and opened the door. Inside there was everything he remembered, but lacking anything really pinpointing that he lived here. Finally giving up, he collapsed onto his bed, face burying itself in his hands as he tried to think. What did he expect? To find his nonexistent parents? To find himself, a younger version, idly shifting through the detective novels he kept on the shelves? He didn't know, and for once, he was at a loss. He laughed then, a harsh, choking sound that burned his throat, but for days without hearing his own voice, he didn't care.

When his laughing subsided, he felt rather than saw Minene standing in the doorway. Her one visible eye looked worried, and Aru just shook his head. "I'm fine. I just need a bit of time." The words were rough, and his throat burned as he spoke, but he ignored it. He'd survived, and he needed to be something of himself before he felt his world collapse.

"No, you're not. What are you, thirteen, fourteen? Maybe even fifteen? You just lost everyone you ever cared about. If you were really okay after it all, I'd kill you here and now and deal with Yuno myself. I don't need another psycho running around." The bed dipped next to him as Minene took a seat. She observed him critically with her one good eye and sighed. "When did I have to worry about teenagers, huh? I never had to until I ran into Amano."

"Guess you're just lucky like that, huh?"

"And what's with this disobeying doctor's orders? You were told not to speak for another day just to let the tracheotomy heal, and here you are, blabbing all over the place." Minene scowled at him. "Honestly, if I find myself nursing a depressed teenager, I will put you out of my misery, got it?"

Aru nodded, a light chuckle escaping his lips that led to a brief coughing fit. When it subsided, he looked over to Minene. "So, what do we do now?"

"You are going to school. I hope you enjoyed your first year in junior high, because that's where you'll be going. I even arranged that you'll be going to the same school Amano's going to, just so you can keep an eye on Gasai. I know the game doesn't start for another two years, but we need all the help we can get. The more information, and the more you can try and keep Yukiteru away from her, the better." Minene looked over Aru as she spoke, and a frown crossed her face. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Aru shrugged. He wasn't sure about a lot of things. He wasn't sure if he was really okay. He knew he had to do something, however. Despite what he was feeling, he had to do it. He had to find a way to break the cycle. If that meant meeting whatever demons he now possessed, then he would do it.

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

And this is chapter two! Whoo, I actually found my muse again!

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 _ **Chapter 2:**_

 _ **Starting Over**_

While Minene had left Aru upstairs to sleep, she herself was busy acquainting herself with the place she found herself. She wasn't desperate to win the game anymore. No, she had made peace with that part of herself. However, that didn't mean that she wasn't going to ensure that the last cycle happened again. To do that, she had to leave for a bit.

She entered the kitchen, where stark white walls and counters stood. She was beginning to hate that color. From everything she had just witnessed, Deus had done a number on his observer. The only white she didn't have any hard feelings for was Akise's own hair and skin. Something he couldn't help, and yet was stuck with. Perhaps for the rest of his life, however long that may be.

A man was seated at the counter, hands cradling a cup of coffee. How Nishijima had managed to track her down, she'll never know, nor did she know how he knew she was here to begin with. Perhaps fate, but she stopped believing in fate. Had a long time ago. 'Fate' decided a child should be ripped from her family. 'Fate' decided that a sadistic game should be played to the last one standing. 'Fate' had decided that innocent people would be caught up in madness. 'Fate' had decided that one young teen was only there at the whim of a divine being. She despised the very idea of fate, and gods, and whatever else she thought would cause this to happen. However, she voiced none of this, instead going over to the coffeepot and pouring herself a cup before going over to the rookie detective.

"So, I guess this is where you try to turn me in, isn't it?" Her gaze held him, one eye locked on his two, and she knew he might feel a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't let it show. Ever since the incident in the hotel, and later with Third, he'd always seemed to be chasing her. He'd almost caught her, but had in the end lost, and she was determined not to let there be a repeat.

Nishijima simply looked down into his mug and sighed. "You'd just find a way to escape, like last time. Though, I am curious as to how an international terrorist managed to bomb a mosque in Yemen, and then turn around and come down those stairs just now. Even had there more than an hour, it wouldn't be in the same timeframe." Masumi's eyes travelled around the room before landing on her again. "There wouldn't be an explanation for any of that, would there?"

Minene hesitated, her heart pounding against her ribcage. She knew it all, just like she knew the look he was giving her. Curious, and considering, and her own heart ached. This wasn't her Nishijima though, and she didn't want to get him embroiled more than anyone else in the mess that was coming. If she couldn't stop the games from coming, then history had a chance of repeating itself.

However, part of her longed for the future he had promised her, and considering that she removed Kurusu from potentially participating, she needed a contact in the police force. She'd called Keigo earlier that morning, before picking up Aru from the hospital. He'd been shocked, and demanded who it was, but she hung up before he got a response. Apparently, Masumi was more attentive, and showed up just before she went to check on Aru. However, she wondered just how much of the truth she could reveal.

"…..Do you believe in alternate realities, where there are multiple yous scattered across the dimensions, but you find yourself in a new one because your reality was destroyed?" She was not going to reveal the games, not yet, not when there was so much at stake.

At his hesitant nod, she took a deep breath and a sip of her coffee before continuing. "I'm… not from this dimension. Mine was destroyed because the god of our world died, and no one took his place. I managed to escape, and came here to prevent it from happening to this one."

Masumi stared incredulously, and Minene was almost afraid that he was going to turn her in. However, he took a deep breath and regarded her. "So what I'm getting is that you're from another world."

"Yes."

"And in this other world, there was this god that died and it destroyed the world?"

"Yes."

"And you came here to prevent it?"

"Yes."

Brown eyes studied her for a moment, and he then glanced to his phone. "And have you committed any crimes in this world? Is the terrorist Uryu Minene you?"

Minene bit her lip. This was one reason she really didn't want to tell him. She was afraid of his reaction, and yet, she didn't know what else to say. She wasn't going to tell him that Aru was from that same world. Not unless the kid wanted it to be known. He had enough of his own troubles, considering how he reacted to being in his own home. However, he had to know. Otherwise they could end up with a bigger mess down the road. She wasn't going to jeopardize their chances of success because of something like that.

"Yes. I am Uryu Minene. However, I haven't committed any crimes beyond falsifying documents to ensure that I could live here."

Masumi sighed, running a hand through his hair and glancing again at his phone. He picked it up, and before Minene could protest, he held up a finger while he quickly dialed a number. Shouldering his phone, he cleared his throat and started speaking. "Hey, captain. It's Nishijima. That case with the kid assaulted and left to die in the Gasai home? Yeah, I'm talking with the sister now. Apparently, she's afraid that someone might come and try and finish off her brother. Yes sir, I know. Apparently the mystery assailant has something against the family, from what I can gather. She doesn't have any concrete evidence, unfortunately. Only that her brother was harassed while she was gone once, and then this happened. …Yes sir, I can bring her in for testimony, but I think there should be someone watching the household while she's away. Kid just came home from the hospital, and I don't think he'd be able to fight off an attacker in his state. …You'll send someone over so she can give her testimony? Okay, good. I'll head down to the station with her as soon as they get here. Thanks."

Minene simply stared at Masumi as he hung up the phone. Was he insane? Suddenly she felt a tic build on her forehead, and before she knew it, she jumped up and slammed her hands down on the counter. "What the hell was that about?" She could feel herself seething as she glared at him. "I never even said anything about going down to the police, and suddenly you're calling up your boss and telling him that you're taking me in? What the fuck?"

Masumi had jumped a bit as she yelled, but quickly recovered. "First, if you're trying to build a cover, working with the police rather than avoiding them makes your cover more believable. Second, I can't help but get the feeling you're protecting the kid upstairs. You're not related, I can tell that much, especially if what you say is true and you're from an alternate dimension. That to me says you'd rather keep your cover intact. Third," Masumi took a breath before continuing, "Someone attacked that kid. Considering what I read of the report, and what you just said, you wouldn't be protecting him unless there was something important about him. There's holes in the story, and if you want to keep the story, fine. But at least let me help you if you're trying to save the world."

Minene blinked, trying to think of a time that Nishijima even talked to her like that. She couldn't, and sighed. "I don't even know why I'm going along with this. I should just take care of you now before you reveal anything." Looking up, her gaze returned to Masumi. "Aru stays here. He has enough problems on his plate without having to know that I might be arrested for being a terrorist."

"Unless your yelling already woke him up." Both Minene and Masumi looked up to see Aru walking into the kitchen calmly. He went over to the cabinets and grabbed himself a mug, ignoring the look that Minene was obviously giving him as he filled it and went about preparing some tea. Turning back around, he gave a small smile and crossed his arms as he waited for the water to heat up. "Sorry, I slept a lot at the hospital. Not much I could do when they had me hooked up to the ventilator. Well, other than watch the news, I guess."

"What all did you hear?" Minene knew Aru wasn't stupid. For crying out loud, the kid probably had an intellect that rivaled the best minds of the planet, but only wanted to be a detective. It made their interactions that much more interesting, as she was certain he wouldn't approve of a lot of her methods.

Aru for his part shrugged. "Beyond him pointing out the obvious and you agreeing to go to the station with him, not much." He checked his water and added the tea leaves, obviously satisfied with the temperature. He then settled back and looked around. "It's almost funny. You'd think things would be different around here, but they're not. I mean, I could still find where I put the tea leaves, and yet they shouldn't be there. I guess it was set up to be my home no matter what."

Minene could hear the undercurrent in his voice of something else. It hadn't been hard to fabricate Aru's past at all, as though it were a void that was waiting to be filled. She wouldn't voice it to the kid, however. She knew the subject of what he was was obviously a touchy subject. Despite that, she flushed faintly at the other meaning behind his words and looked over to Masumi. "Well, there went my idea of going without him knowing."

"And there goes my belief that I was extremely observant. I don't know about you kid, but you heard the story? I know, whatever Uryu has planned is supposed to save the world. I do know she's going to need help. While I don't know for certain if it's the truth, I'm willing to keep an eye on things. Especially if it sounds like I need to step in." Nishijima crossed his arms, his expression one of doubt, but she could tell he was mulling over something. Hopefully it wasn't whether or not he should arrest her. She'd had enough of him doing that the first time around.

Aru smirked first at Minene, and then at Masumi. "I'll be fine. You're sending someone here anyway to watch the house, right? Unless my attacker's really desperate, they won't try it again."

Minene could point out that yes, Yuno was probably that desperate, but she said nothing. Besides, they were trying to keep to the story they didn't know much, and while she didn't like it, she had to trust that Aru could handle himself. "Fine, but you have any issues, call me. Even if it's just to call, let it ring once, and then hang up. I don't care what I'm doing at that point; I will immediately come and take care of the issue. You," here she pointed a finger firmly at the young albino, "you will rest, and relax as much as you can. Otherwise you will be the first one to find out just how irate I can be."

Aru nodded, picking up his tea and looking around. She didn't know what he was looking for, but he soon sat down and looked pensive. "So how long before the person that's supposed to keep an eye on the place Mister…?"

"Nishijima, Nishijima Masumi. They should be here-" Masumi was cut off by his phone before he could finish his sentence, and Minene had to hold back a laugh. He looked a bit flustered as he answered the phone, said a few words, and then hung up again. "That was faster than I thought. I guess this is where we get going so that we can get your sister back home. Ground rules, don't answer the phone, and call if there's an emergency. We'll be back shortly."

* * *

Minene tapped her fingers against her elbow testily as Masumi drove her down to the station. She didn't like this, not one bit, and yet, there wasn't really an option here. Not without revealing what she knew and what the possible future might hold. She also would have preferred if Nishijima had stayed out of this completely. It was bad enough that she had to worry about Kurusu being dragged into this whole mess. She didn't want to lose Nishijima again if she could help it.

She looked over to the man, who seemed to be paying attention to the road. Same eyes, hair a bit shorter than she remembered, he was there, and she couldn't help but wonder about what exactly she was doing just now. She was automatically out of the games by default, and she refused to try and take her double's place to prevent her from going through the same problems. She was here to stop Gasai, and that was it.

When they pulled into the station, she couldn't help but worry. However, Masumi was of course a perfect gentleman and opened the door for her. Her eye narrowed and she climbed out of the car. Her eye scanned the building before she followed the detective. Now was not the time to wonder just how much she was going to have to hide. She would do what she needed, and she would do it without having to worry about being arrested.

Thankfully, the questioning of the attack on Akise was straightforward. No, she didn't see who had done it. Yes, there had been threats against Aru before. Aru never stated who it could be. Yes, she had a feeling that the person had been watching her brother for a while now. No, Aru had not caused any troubles or given anyone a reason to hate him.

Keigo was shockingly patient as he asked the questions and recorded all the information as she answered him. His eyes lingered on her features, however, and she had the feeling he already knew who she was. However, despite that, he went on with his line of questions before he stopped recording and put down his paper and pen. Folding his hands on the table, he leveled a gaze at her.

"So Akise-san, is that the truth, or something else?"

Minene suddenly felt the urge to strangle Nishijima. Of course Kurusu would immediately figure out that she was not who she said she was. Or that everything she stated might have been lies. Most of them weren't. She knew that Yuno had threatened Aru before, and she knew that Yuno was a stalker and had been violent in the past. And Aru had not said who it was that cut his throat. That didn't take a genius to figure out, either. "It's as much of the truth as I can gather."

Keigo looked Minene over again. "How'd you lose the eye?"

Minene sighed, and rubbed at the eye patch. "Accident with a dart. Someone threw one at something in my hand, and didn't realize it was going to hit my eye instead. It ended up having to be removed." She didn't mention that the person had been trying to kill her, or that the extraction of said eye was excruciating. He didn't need those facts.

Keigo sighed, and then turned back on the recorder. After asking a few more questions, he finally turned off the recorder and sat back, watching Minene carefully. "Masumi seems to think you'd be a good addition to the force."

Minene blinked and narrowed her eyes. He did, did he? Yep, she was going to strangle the man and ensure that he died, slowly and painfully. She hadn't given him permission to try and get her a job, after all, unless Masumi was trying to keep an eye on her. "I don't recall asking for a job."

Keigo simply shook his head and took out a photo. Laying it before her, he sat back and waited for her to take a look before he spoke again. "I'm pretty sure that you normally go by Uryu Minene, not Akise Minene, and while I know that the last attack and your appearance in Japan don't mesh with timelines, it can still get tricky where you can be arrested for her, or well, your crimes. Not unless you're her twin or you have an uncanny resemblance to her."

Minene almost swore, but kept her composure. "So now it's down to coercion?"

Keigo shook his head. "Actually no. As far as I know, you have no crimes here, and your documentation, while shaky, is solid. I'm asking because while everything checked out, there was nothing about an Akise Aru or his sister Minene just five days ago. I should know, I looked. He had a student ID that wasn't issued for another two years. So something's going on, and I'm trying to find out what kind of trouble landed in my precinct and what it has to do with the both of you."

Minene swore. She had forgotten that anything related to violent attacks was checked out, and she hadn't been able to have time in between making sure that Aru had medical attention before he died and checking out what was going on to make sure that they had a solid identity. In those crucial hours, she had basically backed herself into a corner. She almost wanted to look at her Escape Diary to find out the fastest escape route for herself, but she knew that her phone was useless for this. "So I take the job, and this disappears? Sounds pretty shady in my opinion."

Keigo instead shook his head. "Actually, it all comes down to the fact that a violent crime was committed in my jurisdiction. Aru survived the encounter, yes, but that doesn't mean that it might not happen again. If you're interested in getting to the bottom of this, then it stands to reason that the offer is sound. Besides, as someone that has avoided the law before, you know how criminals act and think. Therefore your experience would be invaluable to the force."

Minene frowned, thinking. "And how do I get around the whole fact that you'd be recruiting me right off the street?"

"You'll have to sit the exam, and undergo the academy. I can handle the rest. Despite what you might be thinking, I am trying to help. Your circumstances might be suspicious, but unless you do something that makes me have to take you in, there shouldn't be any trouble." Keigo rubbed his forehead then, and then looked at Minene. "Besides, you saved my son's life. The doctors found a heart problem two days after your call. They said that if I hadn't taken him to see them as early as I did the chances of his survival would have been greatly diminished. This is my attempt to say thank you."

The fact that Keigo thanked her caused her to stop and stare. He wasn't kidding, was he? He actually recognized her voice? Yes, she had raged against the very gods about her lot in life, but she hadn't thought that doing something so simple would incur a debt. She was just repaying hers to her world's Kurusu. She didn't expect anything to happen after that. Realizing that he was waiting for a response, she looked him over. "What happens if Uryu Minene shows up in Japan? Will I be arrested for her crimes?"

"Does she have one eye?" Keigo challenged, and Minene chuckled.

"I don't think so. I've never met her before in my life." This was certainly an interesting development, and she wondered what it could mean for the future.

Keigo nodded, and then stood. "Then I take this as you accepting my offer?"

Minene stood herself, and took the hand he extended. "I guess it is."

 _To Be Continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry about taking so long with this chapter, but it's well worth the wait, I promise. I'm using NaNoWriMo to actually get ahead with this fanfic, so that way I can get a bunch of it written out and worked on before the month is done. Expect some additional chapters as a result!

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3_**

 ** _Nightmares and Daydreams_**

 _Aru blinked as he looked around. His eyes picked out the remains of Sakurami City, his heart racing as he watched balls of nothingness consume the terrain. He could vaguely hear it, screams of people dying as he felt his stomach plummet. He could pick out several corpses, crushed by the weight of falling buildings as he tried to tell himself he wasn't here. This wasn't real. Swallowing hard, he picked his way down, looking at everything and nothing._

 _He could already tell what he would find at the end of his journey. Unseen eyes watched him, and he could almost feel hands grasping at him, trying to keep him from moving forward. But he had to know. His mind was screaming at him, but the albino made his way through the human wreckage to find himself overlooking a scene that he wished he could erase from his memory._

 _Hinata, Mao, and Ouji were blocking Yukiteru's path to Eighth. Hinata was pleading with him, only she was crying tears of blood. Yukiteru seemed to ignore her pleas however, and raised his gun to shoot her. Aru screamed, trying to urge Hinata to duck or dodge. However, the bullet, though moving impossibly slow, still managed to hit the brunette, causing her to collapse into herself. Aru watched, sickened, as her body then started rotting before his eyes._

 _Mao was of course next, running toward where Hinata had fallen and then toward Yukiteru. Before she reached him however, the flesh started rotting from her bones, and the half-rotted remains collapsed to the ground, her eternal smile a gross parody of the one she wore in life._

 _Aru couldn't take it. He ran, ignoring the screaming part of himself that this was a dream, it wasn't real. However, sliding down part of a collapsed wall, he was ignoring that part of himself. He had to stop Yukiteru. Ouji was walking on by Yukiteru and he had to stop the automatic action of the shorter male shooting the other._

 _Aru nearly felt a small thrill of victory as he managed to intersperse himself between Yukiteru and Ouji. The gun went off however, and the bullet passed through him to hit Ouji. Aru turned just to watch Ouji's flesh melt from his bones. Then he jumped at Yukiteru, pinning the last living male to the ground._

" _Yukiteru-kun! Snap out of it! Please! It's Yuno, this isn't you! You're not a monster!" He grabbed at the gun, prying it away from Yukiteru's grip before flinging it away. He then leaned forward, trying to stifle the lips that suddenly parted in insane laughter with his own._

 _It worked, but briefly, because Aru's eyes opened to see Yukiteru's own body rotting beneath him. He gasped, and pulled away. The corpse reached out for him, trying to drag him back, and Aru flinched instinctively. He then heard the laugh behind him, and he turned, pink eyes widening as he spied Yuno walking toward him, hands grasping something behind her back._

" _You can't be here, freak. You don't belong to this world. I do. You're just a puppet. I'm a real person. You're nothing." Her words, filled with venom, caused Aru's eyes to widen as he looked back toward Yukiteru's body. Yukiteru was standing up, completely unblemished, as he made his way to Yuno._

" _No! Yukiteru-kun, don't! Please!" Aru's cries fell on deaf ears as the brunette walked over and laid a kiss on Yuno's lips, his face flashing to rotten and back._

 _Yuno of course smiled sweetly as she withdrew one hand from behind her back. "You see, " she said sweetly, "this should have been you. You were supposed to die. Why didn't you die, Akise? I hate you. I told you I would take your head should you have touched Yukki. This is just the proof."_

 _With that, she dropped the item she held in her hand on the ground, and Aru's horror grew as he recognized his own hair, his own face, eyes sightless and blank as they stared forward in death. Aru's hand flew to his neck, where he could feel something hot and slippery gushing from his neck. Aru tried vainly to staunch the bleeding, and Yuno laughed, surging forward, her corpse-Yukiteru merely shambling behind._

" _I told you, you're dead. You should have left well-enough alone. I love Yukki. I could never hurt him. He's mine. You could have survived if you did. Oh, wait, you're not real. You should have died with Deus. I guess that even you have dense moments." She was right beside him, and Aru sat, frozen, trying to process everything. Something flashed silver in her hand, and he barely had time to react before the knife plunged deep in his neck…_

Aru sat up, gasping as his hands flew to his neck. Finding nothing but healing scars, he fell back into bed, trying to still his heartbeat as he took deep breaths. It was a dream, he told himself. It wasn't real. He kept the mantra going in his head before he settled back and closed his eyes. However, the sight of Yukiteru's rotting face had Aru rushing for the bathroom. He heaved into the toilet, emptying what was in there and then sat quietly, head touching the cool porcelain as he collected himself.

Third nightmare this week, he thought morbidly. He was having them with startling frequency, and he figured he should say something to Minene. He should, but he hadn't. After all, it was because of him that everyone had died, and that Yukiteru had…

He shook his head, trying to dispel the notion. That was survivor's guilt talking, he told himself firmly. He was in no way shape or form actually guilty for the deaths. He stood on shaky legs, still trying to dispel the images from his head, and turned to walk back to bed. He could always read something to try and get back to sleep.

However, sleep was hard in coming, and the albino sighed before he rolled out of bed, already eyeing the clothes he would be wearing for the day. School clothes. Clothes that had been laid out specifically by himself last night so that if he managed to actually oversleep, he would find them easily. Not that that was possible, he thought. Ever since waking up in the hospital, he'd had trouble sleeping. His mind was already anticipating another possible attack by Yuno, and it wouldn't let him sleep more than a few hours at a time. It was great if he didn't want to sleep that long, but not so much when he knew that it made him try and catch cat naps when he could.

Minene had suggested possibly going to some place to get his sleep evaluated once earlier in the week, but Aru had refused. He didn't need to be put on drugs, not with the fact that if he grew dependent on them to sleep, he would be that much less useful. He was frustrated and tired, and he knew that if he didn't do something to get to sleep, he'd fall apart. However, even he knew that while it seemed like what happened merely two weeks ago was nothing but a nightmare, that didn't mean his mind would actually accept it as such.

He quickly dressed, not wanting to stay in his room for longer than necessary, and knowing he had a bit of a hike ahead of him to get to school. He frowned at himself in the mirror, and just ran a quick comb through his hair before deciding that was good enough. He almost had the urge to skip school, almost, until he recalled he didn't have the same reputation to get good grades regardless of how often he missed school. Honestly he had to build that kind of reputation back up, and he knew he'd be bored. He knew the material, and would probably be zoning out most everything.

Finished getting ready, he made his way downstairs, noting that Minene was already gone. She'd taken a position at the police department, and was currently studying up to pass the police exam. He didn't know if that meant that Minene had figured that being part of the force was a benefit or if she'd been coerced, but in either case, he knew she was working hard to do something to prevent everything. His mind drifted back to the dream, and he shook his head. No, that wasn't going to happen.

He'd fixed himself breakfast and finished well before he knew he should leave for school, but he didn't want to stay in the house longer than necessary. Somewhere between nearly dying by Deus's hands and waking up in the hospital his mind had settled that this wasn't his home, and he was quick to leave the house as a result. He grabbed a bag that Minene had picked up as well as any supplies for school and he was out the door, making his way toward Yukiteru's school.

It was certainly spring and he closed his eyes as he recalled how peaceful the streets seemed. A smile twitched on his lips as he walked. He could almost pretend that the last several months of his life had never happened, and he was just going to school like always. It was certainly a nice fantasy, one that Aru was loathe to give up anytime soon.

* * *

Of course as soon as he got to school, his mood quickly dropped. As he was new, he had to introduce himself to the class, and that included introducing himself to Yukiteru and Yuno. She was seated in the back, and he could tell she was glaring at him with hate-filled eyes. What surprised him was the fact that Ouji was also in the classroom, but he reminded himself that Ouji had originally been a member of the school before he was transferred to Aru's old one. The only one that he wished would even do more than look up and then ignore everything was Yukiteru himself, and he couldn't exactly fault the other. After all, Yukiteru tended to record everything he saw, which meant that even now, he was probably composing a new entry into his phone.

The teacher indicated that he was to take a seat, and Aru was shocked to find that he would be seated near Yukiteru. Yukiteru for his credit had looked up again and blinked as his name was called, but then had promptly ignored Aru again. Aru could only hide his smile at the thought that despite everything, Amano hadn't changed one bit.

It was during lunch that Aru actually even got a chance to talk to Yukiteru. He'd only paid attention to the schoolwork long enough to know what they were covering and then had immediately tuned them out. He'd covered the material years ago, or had memories of covering it, and therefore he didn't need more than reminders about it. It was when he was trying to figure out lunch that he was jostled from his thoughts about what he was doing. He looked up to see Ouji standing in front of him, a hand on his hip as he leaned over and studied Aru.

"And here I was thinking that you'd be more interesting. You're just weird or something. You've been staring out the window for the last hour. Got something wrong with you or something?" Ouji was eyeing Aru and trying to gauge his reaction. He'd actually forgotten that Ouji had an abrasive personality, and Aru had a moment where he had to remind himself that Ouji wouldn't remember anything about Aru.

"Actually, I was kind of bored. We went over this stuff back in my last school, and I just need to review for anything I might have forgotten. So, are you usually the person that introduces himself to the new kids in class?" Aru had to hand it to himself. It was actually interesting to see his friend without any of the worries all of them had during the game, but he wished that he never had to deal with it. That was one thing he was going to try and prevent.

"Kousaka Ouji, and you had better not forget it. I'm the top dog in the school, and no one crosses me. Have any issues, and I'll take care of it!" Ouji punched his fist into his hand and grinned, obviously happy to have an audience to his awesomeness. Aru was actually glad to see that whatever Ouji was like when he'd met him, he hadn't changed that much.

"I'll keep that in mind. So, I take it you know everyone in the class then?" Aru was honestly curious. He had never gone here, and Yukiteru and Ouji had come to his school after the bombing of their old one. He didn't know any of them aside from Yuno, Ouji, and Yukiteru.

"Everyone that's important to know!" Ouji gave the albino a thumb up, and Aru had to hide a snicker. Same old Ouji. "So, I take it you wanted introductions, right?"

For the rest of the duration of lunch, Ouji dragged him and introduced him to everyone. Well, almost everyone. Apparently Ouji hadn't wanted to even acknowledge that Yukiteru even existed, which meant that they weren't friends before the end of the world. It wasn't until Ouji finally left him alone to eat that Aru finally was able to say something to the brunette.

Thankfully, Yuno was nowhere to be seen, and Ouji had commented that Aru would have loved to meet her because she was smart and beautiful. Aru rather preferred it that way. He didn't want to deal with Yuno if he didn't have to yet. So, when Ouji finally gave him room to breathe, Aru headed over, thinking that maybe he might get lucky and Yukiteru might open up.

First thing he noticed was that Yukiteru seemed to just be picking at his food and not saying much. Aru wondered if that meant that he was verging on antisocial before his parents' divorce, but decided not to think too hard on it. Instead, he settled down and opened up his own lunch, taking a look at it before he glanced toward Yukiteru again.

Yukiteru blinked as a box was set on his desk, and started looking toward Aru. Aru had casually just set a box of pocky down, and was even now pulling his chopsticks apart to enjoy his lunch. When he noticed Yukiteru staring, he shrugged. "You're just poking at your lunch. I figured you weren't all that hungry and my sister packed it in here and knows I don't eat it, so maybe it's more appetizing than the lunch you have."

Yukiteru blinked, and Aru had to fight back a laugh as a blush appeared on his face. Yukiteru was shaking his head though, and started shoving it back toward Aru. "I'm fine; I'm just not hungry today."

Aru shook his own head and wished he had a camera as Yukiteru's face continued to redden. "No, I insist. I don't like dark chocolate anyway. You're saving me the hassle of trying to find someone else to have it."

Yukiteru just sighed and picked it up, hesitating before he opened it and stuck one of the sticks in his mouth. He frowned, though, and looked over at Aru. "How'd you get your scar? The one on your neck. It looks pretty nasty."

Aru winced and raised a hand up to touch the area. It was still pretty obvious, and he thought that wearing a high collar would hide it. Apparently not, if Yukiteru had noticed it. "I um, I was attacked a couple of weeks ago. It's well…" How could he explain that someone had tried to murder him without freaking Yukiteru out? "It could be worse, I mean. At least I survived it." He shrugged, hoping that Yukiteru would just drop the subject. It wasn't a pleasant memory, after all, and he hoped that the brunette would let it be.

Yukiteru for his part winced, and popped the rest of the stick into his mouth. He then looked over at Aru, a frown crossing his features. "So why are you talking to me, anyway? I mean, people don't usually do that, and I don't tend to talk myself."

Aru simply raised an eyebrow. "So there's a law against talking to you? I didn't know that. Either way, if there was, it's a stupid rule." He smiled, realizing that yes, Yukiteru was that awkward and antisocial. He recalled it took a lot of prodding the last time for Yukiteru to even get to be comfortable with their friends, even Ouji.

Yukiteru started speaking, but Aru found the room suddenly silent. He glanced around, trying to hear something. However, he found that people were talking around him, and he still couldn't hear them. Then suddenly the room disappeared, and he found himself in the Cathedral of Causality. He started, his eyes going wide as he turned around. "What?"

" **What are you doing here? I haven't created you yet."** Aru took an involuntary step back as Deus Ex Machina stared down from his throne. Muru Muru was nowhere to be seen, and Aru wondered where she was. He swallowed, thinking that this was probably the worst thing that could happen. " **No answer? I can extract it from you if I wish."**

"No!" However, it was too late, as he felt the beginnings of Deus deconstructing him. "Please, stop! I'm not who you think I am!"

Deus looked intrigued. **"You're not? Then who are you, if not the Observer? Your existence shouldn't even be here. I haven't even begun the game yet."** Aru gasped as Deus picked him up, trying not to freak out as he felt the deconstruction hastening.

"Look, please. I'm not from this world. I survived the game last time. I came here to stop it!" The deconstruction stopped, and Aru let out a sob as Deus considered him carefully. Then suddenly he felt a presence so great in his head that he clutched at it, ignoring the pounding and trying to will the being out. "Stop! Please!"

The pressure left abruptly, and the being looked at Aru carefully. **"Someone tampered with the game."** It wasn't a question, and Aru wondered what exactly Deus had seen in his mind to cause the being to come to that conclusion. **"You're here to prevent tampering."**

"I'm here to stop the damn game from happening to begin with!" Aru argued, not liking one bit where this was going. Oh, if Deus was going to continue with the game still, there was going to be issues. "That someone is here, now, in this world. She'll use the games to her advantage and this world will meet the same fate as mine."

" **You wish to stop her, then."** The god stared hard at Aru, and Aru swallowed thickly. This wasn't going well. He could already feel the tendrils of panic creeping through him, and wished he wasn't as susceptible to Deus manipulating him as he was. **"You would do anything within your power to prevent this."**

"Yes." Aru shivered, and then felt relieved when he felt Deus put him back together. "Please, just stop this. Don't allow the games. Figure out another way to do them. Something!"

" **I will consider your request, Observer. I will call you back when I wish to, however. You will not interfere until I have made my decision."** Aru winced, knowing that this was probably as good as he was going to get at the moment. He made to kneel, ready to return to the real world and find out just what happened, when Deus held up a hand. **"You will also report to me anything that has changed because of your meddling immediately. Understood?"**

Immediately, Aru was aware he was placed back under the thumb of Deus, and he resented it. He had been given free will by his Deus, and was recognized as just as human as everyone else. Apparently that wasn't happening here. "I understand." He didn't like it, and was already trying to figure out a way out of this, but he understood. He was, after all, merely a construct.

* * *

Aru gasped, sitting up abruptly as he tried to catch his breath. There was a residual pounding in his head from when Deus decided to investigate his mind, and his limbs ached from what he was certain was his deconstruction. Trying to calm his racing heart, he looked around. He was apparently inside of the nurse's office at school, and he blinked when he saw Yukiteru blinking at his abrupt action. "How did I get here?"

Yukiteru looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "You just passed out in the middle of lunch. You had this look on your face like something was wrong though. You okay?"

"I must not have gotten a lot of sleep last night. Sorry about that. Nightmares." Aru shrugged, as technically that was the truth, just not the whole truth. Yukiteru would probably freak out if he knew the entire truth. "Wait, you didn't carry me in here, did you?"

"No, Kousaka helped me get you in here. He just left to tell the teacher what was going on. Are you sure you're all right?" Yukiteru was looking him over with a concerned expression on his face, and Aru just shook his head, thinking he didn't want to scare the younger boy.

"I'm fine. I think I should get back to class though. I'm already behind since I just moved here, after all."

Yukiteru didn't look like he believed him, but stood and made toward the door. "I'll go get the nurse then. She should look you over before you go back to class."

Yukiteru left then, and Aru simply raised a hand to feel along his throat. The scar was still there, and he didn't think that Deus would remove it. However, when he sat up, he noticed one very large problem. Either his clothes had gotten bigger, or he had shrunk. Well, this was an interesting development. He quickly cinched up his belt a bit, hoping that he could talk to Minene about what had transpired.

He was in the middle of tying up his shoes when Yukiteru came back in, this time followed by an older woman. After checking him over, she declared him ready to actually go back to class, though with a stern warning that the moment he felt anything wrong, he would return. Aru agreed, and hopped off the table, hoping no one would comment about the clothes.

Thankfully, no one did, and the rest of the school day passed as normal, or as normal as it could get for him. Yuno didn't look too pleased when he walked in, and thankfully Aru was able to ignore her, instead writing down minor notes and waiting for the day to end.

When it did, he was shocked to find both Ouji and Yukiteru waiting for him. He looked between the two, wondering what was going on, when Ouji decided to speak up. "Akise, we're walking you home. And you had better not say no for an answer. Seriously, I think you should have eaten that pocky instead of giving it to Amano. What were you thinking? I mean, if you were having issues with blood sugar or something, then you need to take care of it." Ouji's arms were crossed, and he looked quite mulish.

Aru glanced over to Yukiteru, who just shrugged and looked away. "I told him that the nurse said something about your blood sugar dropping or something. I figured it couldn't hurt if someone could help you watch out for issues, right?"

"Wait, you told him I had diabetes and that's why I passed out in class?" Either he was imagining things, or did Yukiteru actually lie to keep the fact that he admitted to having nightmares a secret? Or was it something else?

"Come on! I was going to figure it out eventually. It just happened sooner rather than later." Aru looked over toward Yukiteru, frowning, and the other boy shrugged. "Don't look at him. You're the one not taking care of yourself. C'mon, let's go grab something to eat since you missed lunch."

"You're serious about this?" Aru couldn't believe how ridiculous this was all seeming to be. He was hardly diabetic, and the fact that Yukiteru seemed to be avoiding eye contact was telling. Just what had happened beyond him passing out?

"We're going, even if I have to drag you out to get it!" With that, Ouji slung an arm over his shoulders and dragged Aru with him, Yukiteru followed, albeit behind the two. Aru couldn't help but glance back toward the classroom, and quickly looked back to the front.

No, he wasn't imagining the feeling of being glared at. Yuno was looking at him with murder in her eyes.

 _To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

Oh dear GOD did this chapter take too much to write. I ultimately had the most trouble with the argument at the end. Hopefully it was worth the wait.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4**_

 _ **Long-Awaited Conversations**_

Minene sighed as she squeezed off a few rounds at the target in front of her. She'd been in the academy for a little over a month, and she was already itching to get out. Not for anything that the academy was doing. She knew that she had a long way to go yet, but because of one person. Nishijima. He was predominantly the main reason. She knew that he was looking into the assault on Akise, but she was worried. Why shouldn't she be? After all, it had been because of the games that he had lost his life last time, and she didn't want a repeat.

However, she couldn't just _say_ that to Masumi. That was bound to cause all sorts of problems, especially if she revealed exactly what went on in the other world as well as her own role. He knew her as a terrorist, yes, but that didn't mean that she wanted him to know that she loved him or that she'd watched him die.

She grit her teeth, emptying the remaining rounds from her gun into the target and then ejecting the empty magazine. She already hated the gun training and she was already highly proficient, and the fact that Kurusu was pushing for her to join in his department was even more troubling. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Kurusu was trying to keep her close. Which, he probably was also doing that.

No, something told her that he was using her. She recalled that Kurusu had been a shrewd Diary owner back when he was in the game, and it was only because of his dying son that he even joined it to begin with. With that out of the way, she knew that he no longer had any reason to be in the game, but that didn't make him less dangerous. If nothing else, that made him more likely to not overlook the actions of the other Diary owners and instead get in the line of fire, probably with Masumi in two.

Her frown deepened at that thought, and she went to reload her gun. However, the extra clip she had next to her was missing, and was instead in the hand of Nishijima, who smiled at her. Oh, that was dirty, sneaking up on her blind side to grab something that wasn't his. She snorted, deciding to holster her gun instead and turned away. "So I see you've taken to stalking me. I'm not allowed to use the range at the academy?"

She heard a click behind her, and noticed that Masumi had summoned the paper target forward. He gestured as it came to a halt before them, his expression bemused. "Akise-san, I'd say that you don't need the firearms training if you're grouping your shots that well. Mind letting me know why you're blowing off steam?"

Minene turned toward him, a scowl on her features. "Actually, yes, I do mind letting you know. You didn't come down here to lecture me, did you? Or are you checking up on me because Kurusu told you to?"

Masumi sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Actually, I came down because one, you haven't eaten yet, and two, your brother's being followed."

Minene narrowed her eye. "By who?"

Masumi got a smile on his face, which Minene had to fight off the urge to punch. "Actually, that would be why I wanted to get you for lunch. At least go somewhere where we could talk."

She crossed her arms, frowning. "Isn't there some sort of rule against flirting with subordinates?" She ignored the fluttering in her chest, telling her hormones mentally to calm down.

Masumi nodded, still wearing that stupid smile and looking like he had expected her response. Which, he might have. "I'm not flirting with a subordinate. I'm offering a subordinate a chance to get something to eat and let her know what's going on in the case her brother's involved in."

Minene crossed her arms, her expression dubious, but nodded anyway. "Fine, lunch, and no funny business."

Nishijima still looked like the cat that got the cream, and started walking toward the armory station for Minene to drop off her firearm. Minene of course refused to inform him that the gun in her holster wasn't the only one she possessed, but that was neither here nor there as she dropped it off and followed him out of the building.

The silence that permeated the car as he drove them to a small diner was surprisingly comfortable, and Minene could almost forget that this wasn't the same Nishijima that she had fallen for. However, the man parked the car and got out, opening the door for Minene to get out. She glared, thinking that the man was being overly friendly, but she nevertheless stepped out and crossed her arms as they walked in. After the two had been seated and their drinks ordered, she crossed her arms. "Alright, what's this about Aru-chan being followed?"

Masumi sighed, and reached into his blazer's inside pocket, pulling out a photograph and sliding it over to her. "We've been keeping tabs on him since he was the victim of an assault, and noticed one person in his class seemed to be keeping close tabs on him and where he goes. Do you recognize this person?"

Minene didn't even need to look at the picture to recognize who it could be, but did so anyway, noticing the pink hair immediately. Her frown deepened, and her eye narrowed at Masumi. "No, I don't. Unless someone has a crush on my brother. Which is highly possible, you know. He is twelve, after all."

"That was my thought too, until we noticed that she tended to watch your house constantly while not in school. Somehow I doubt that's very common behavior for someone with merely a crush." Masumi accepted his cup of coffee from the waitress and added some sugar to it while watching Minene carefully.

Minene accepted her coffee as well and stirred in her own condiments while digesting the news. "So you think that this girl could be the one responsible? That seems a bit far-fetched if you ask me."

Masumi shook his head. "No, she might be connected somehow. We're not sure how and currently we have her father in custody and are questioning him regarding the incident. Do you think that your brother would be able to shed light on it?"

Minene frowned. She wasn't sure if Aru would be able to lie convincingly enough to come up with a story, and the fact that Nishijima was getting way too involved was a bit of an issue. However, that being said, she couldn't just outright tell him no. That would cast the entire thing into a situation that they weren't ready for, namely the fact that she and Aru had never come up with a contingency plan for when they were potentially fingered by the police for crimes Yuno committed. "I think I can ask him if he were willing to talk to you about her. I don't know how much he's aware of her though."

Masumi nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer, and the two decided to talk about other things. However, during the conversation, Minene's mind kept flashing back to the fact that Yuno was now stalking Aru. This whole situation had gotten a lot hairier than she liked.

* * *

Minene was busy when she heard the tell-tale sound of the door clicking open. She turned from her position on the couch to look over at Aru, who was busy taking his shoes off. Minene frowned. Was it just her imagination, or did it seem like Aru seemed a bit more harried than usual? She wasn't sure, and she decided to wait until the teen dropped off his bag before she said anything.

"Gasai's stalking you."

Aru paused on his way to the kitchen, blinking before shaking his head. "Well, that would make sense. It explains why she was studying with us earlier this afternoon."

Minene felt her eyebrow twitch as she glared. "And you neglected to let me know when _that_ happened, apparently. What did I tell you about calling me when she pulled something suspicious?"

Aru turned around, looking at Minene. "I couldn't exactly do that, since Ouji and Yukiteru have no clue about what she's like or why I'd have to call my sister suddenly. Especially since she didn't let me have any time alone."

Now it was Minene's turn to blink before she groaned and rubbed her face. "Great. Just great. She's trying to get close to Amano again. Anything else I need to know?"

"I don't think she was there for Yukiteru-kun." Minene lowered her hand and looked at Aru carefully. "I mean, she was there, but she wasn't there solely because of him."

It took a moment for Minene to process what Aru was saying before she swore. "She's following you around, and made it a point to make sure you weren't alone with Amano. She's not obsessing about him anymore, she's obsessing about you."

Aru nodded. "I think so. Otherwise she wouldn't have been there at all. She always tried to get Yukiteru alone, and dragged him off when she thought he was getting too close to the others. I think she's waiting for me to be alone." He resumed his trek to the kitchen as Minene ground her teeth.

"So what do we do now? Just wait for her to try killing you or deciding to go on some fucked up fantasy again where she murders everyone? I'm not willing to wait that long, Akise. Everything's pointing to the fact that she's right now got an unhealthy obsession with you instead of with Amano. Don't you even fucking tell me that doesn't worry you."

Aru paused, and Minene could swear there seemed to be a slightly troubled expression that crossed his face before it got shuttered quickly. He was getting better at that, Minene observed, and she didn't like that. "It's better if she does have an obsession with me. That way she can't hurt Yukiteru-kun."

Minene stood, her expression turning angry as she stared at the boy. "How is it better? I didn't save your ass for her to murder you in cold blood."

Aru, she found, could get just as angry as she could as he turned his pink glare at her. "Because I'm _not real_ ," he hissed. "I'm just some construct from a dead god that didn't have the decency to die with him! You think I _enjoy_ being told that I don't matter? Well, guess what? I've been told repeatedly that I could be disassembled without a second thought by this world's god. If all that I get to do in this existence is be the one that Gasai goes after, then I'm _fine_ with that!"

Minene stared for a moment, and then swore under her breath. Fuck. Deus was involved. And apparently didn't care that he was tearing his observer's sanity apart. Minene had tried, honestly, to get Aru to realize that he was just as real as everyone else, and now she was seeing all that work undone because of some asshole god that she wanted to just punch in the face. She wasn't even qualified to deal with this bullshit, but here she was, because she had no choice. "Aru, you know better than to-"

"Than to what?" Aru slammed the cup down he had been getting down onto the counter and crossed his arms, facing Minene fully now and not letting his pink gaze stray from hers. " _I don't have an option._ Unlike everyone in this world, _including you,_ I was created, not _born_. All I am is a plaything here, until either I'm killed, or I cease to exist. That's it, Uryu!"

Minene wanted to counter those words, to argue against them, but she ended up instead sighing, deciding to take matters into her own hands. She watched Aru resume what he was doing, make a sandwich and tea, and mutter something about going to bed early. Minene watched him go, wanting to slap the albino for his thoughts and wanting to murder a god. She couldn't do the latter, and the former would just drive Aru away and probably get him to do something stupid. He wasn't acting like himself, and Minene realized what she was going to have to do.

* * *

It was later, after Aru had gone to bed, that Minene decided to act. Confident that the albino teen would be able to survive for the time it took for her to be gone, she concentrated, and then felt reality shift around her. She hadn't thought to use her abilities to go to the Cathedral of Causality, but clearly it needed to be done. Besides, unlike Aru, Minene could hold her own against the god if she had to. She did have a portion of Deus's own powers within her, after all.

She glanced around as soon as she entered, and the cathedral was much as she remembered it, save for the fact that this place was whole as opposed to half-destroyed like it had been when Yukiteru had been murdered. She shifted, violet eyes glancing around carefully before she speared the person she had come to see with a glare. "Deus! We need to have a talk!"

The god, to his credit, merely blinked and glanced down from his position at Minene. Nothing registered in his expression, and Minene was convinced that he only wore the mask to hide anything he might be thinking. " **Uryu Minene. It is interesting to see you here. What are you doing in this realm?"**

Minene crossed her arms and snorted. "Yeah, sure, interesting. Just what have you been telling Akise?"

" **My discussions with the Observer are none of your concern. However, like him, you do not belong here either. For what purpose were you granted a portion of my power?"** Deus was looking Minene over, face impassive, and she ended up rolling her eyes.

"That's none of your business, and whatever happens to Akise is mine." She considered her options carefully and suddenly smirked. "Besides, I think you're harassing _my_ Observer, aren't you?"

" **Your Observer?"**

"Yes, mine. Akise-san was created by my world's Deus, and I inherited a portion of his powers. Therefore, he is mine by default."

" **I see."** Deus leaned forward, his hands coming up to clasp each other as he studied Minene. **"Then I shall assume that you would be willing to assume the mantle of Godhood?"**

"Nope, not happening." Minene could feel a tic form in her eyebrow as she knew that this was one of the most likely events to happen. "You have to find yourself another successor. I refuse to do it."

" **A pity, then."** Deus shifted, his eyes boring into Minene. **"I shall suggest an alternative, then. Shared custody of the Observer. I have allowed him to exist in this world, when he should have been destroyed the moment he traveled back in time."**

"What do you mean, destroyed?" Minene could already feel her temper rising. "Akise survived it, and he's still alive and kicking. Besides, he was granted freedom by our Deus."

" **Then he didn't share with you the consequences of a being such as him to exist in such a fashion."** Deus gestured, and a bank of screens opened showing countless people. **"While all of humanity is my creation, they were granted free will. Therefore, they may travel along the timeline as they so wish. Their actions, good or ill, influence the world and either hasten its destruction or prolong its existence. However, this is not so for constructs.**

" **Constructs, by their very nature, have no free will and therefore cannot influence the world around them to any real extent."** He enlarged one of the screens, showing an individual similar to Akise in appearance moving forward along a line. **"Should they try to travel back in time rather than forward, their existence ceases, and all knowledge of them is erased."** The image of the person suddenly reversed and then shattered into a million pieces. Deus folded his hands again. **"Somehow, the Observer has managed to do the impossible and survive."**

Minene stared hard at the god before her. "I'm not buying that story. Akise has free will, whether you like to believe it or not. Why are you so intent on making sure that Akise remains a construct?"

" **Because there is another problem with constructs such as him. They lack souls in the same way as a normal being. Their souls are borrowed and rewritten to accommodate their existence. The longer a borrowed soul stays in that state without being returned to the** **Akashic** **Records, the more anomalies occur around the individual."** Deus fixed her with a steely gaze. **"This can result in space and time unraveling around them."**

Minene stared, her face paling. "That's why. Why didn't you return him then? If him existing is such a threat-"

Deus shook his head. **"The** **Akashic Records will not accept him. I attempted to reabsorb him, but he was rejected. Whatever anomalies surround him, they prevent him from going back to his original state."**

Minene started laughing then. "Oh, this is rich! A god that can't fix something he broke. I need to have a recording or picture of this moment." She calmed and studied Deus. "So what now? Expecting me to do something about him then?"

" **You contain a fragment of my power, and thus might be able to reabsorb him into the Records. If not, then you would have to take him back to your world to do so. However…"**

"My world is gone. You know that." Minene looked cross. "So you want me to murder a kid because he doesn't belong? What about me?"

" **You may be able to survive in this world because of the powers granted to you."** Deus narrowed his eyes. **"He does not belong. I will use him for the time being for his original purpose, but the moment it is clear he presents a danger to the world, I will destroy him."**

Minene glared. "And the other anomaly? You can't pretend that she isn't causing issues for you."

" **She has already won the games twice. If I so chose, I could name her as my successor without resorting to the games."** Deus looked her over carefully. **"You do not like that option."**

"Of course I don't! She orchestrated the destruction of my world. Why the hell would I like anything that puts her in charge when she's insane?"

" **I see."** A deep rumble sounded from within. **"You do not approve of the idea of removing the Observer, you do not accept the position of God, and you refuse to put into place someone that already possesses the powers necessary for the position."** Deus narrowed his gaze. **"What do you accept and approve of?"**

"Not running the games to begin with. Not even allowing Gasai a chance to be in the games if you have no other choice. And certainly not fucking around with a kid just because to you, he doesn't exist." Minene's finger jabbed at the deity. "You're the god here. Find better options!"

Deus cocked his head to the side. **"I shall consider it. Until then, be sure that reality does not fracture because of your insistence to protect an anomaly."**


End file.
